The present invention relates generally to the field of power tools. More specifically, the present invention relates to hand-held power tools that include handles that may be selectively attached to and detached from the tools.
Hand-held power tools generally include a housing and a motor contained within the housing. The motor is configured to move a tool bit or other cutting accessory at high speeds to form cuts in a workpiece (e.g., a piece of wood, drywall, tile, etc.). For example, a hand-held rotary cutting tool such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,813,805 and 6,443,675 to Kopras et al. (the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety) is configured to rotate a helical or spiral cutting tool bit that includes a sharp cutting edge wrapped in a helix around the longitudinal axis of the bit. According to this example, the tool is configured to allow the formation of cuts in a workpiece by moving the tool in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the bit (i.e., the tool is arranged normal to the workpiece surface and moved parallel to the surface of the workpiece to allow the edges of the bit to remove material from the workpiece).
It may be desirable to provide a handle that can be selectively attached to and detached from a power tool. The handle may act to provide enhanced comfort and control during use of the power tool and may be removed from the tool to allow attachment of other components to the tool (e.g., a “jigsaw” style handle, a soft fabric handle, a plunge router or depth guide, etc.).
Due to the manner in which power tools such as rotary cutting tools are used, it would be desirable to provide handles that remain attached to the power tool unless and until they are intentionally removed by an operator of the tool. For example, it would be advantageous for the handle to remain attached to the tool despite various forces which may be present during use of the tool (e.g., forces resulting from the rotation of the tool bit and/or cutting of a workpiece, etc.). It would also be advantageous for the handle to remain attached to the tool in the event that the power tool is dropped or struck by an object.
It would be advantageous to provide an improved power tool having a detachable handle that may be securely coupled to the power tool in a relatively simple and efficient manner. It would also be advantageous to provide a mechanism for selectively attaching a handle to a power tool that resists detachment of the handle during use of the power tool. It would be desirable to provide a power tool having any one or more of these or other advantageous features as may be apparent to those reviewing this disclosure.